The Tigers announced that starting pitcher this afternoon Eduardo Rodriguez gets on the blocked list. The club released a brief statement from general manager Al Avila to accompany the announcement, which read: “Eduardo Rodríguez has informed the club that he will not be returning to the team at this time due to personal reasons. As a result, Eduardo has been placed on the blacklist until further notice.”
The team hasn’t revealed any further details, nor is there a public timeline for his return. Tigers manager AJ Hinch raised the matter with reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press) shortly after the announcement, stating, “Part of the ban list is the relationship with the player and the organization. I knew he wasn’t going to make his debut and he wasn’t serving in the minor leagues or major leagues at this point. It was inevitable.” Hinch added that he looks forward to “[Rodríguez’s]return whenever that is” and will “continue to support him.”
Rodríguez signed a five-year, $77 million guarantee this past offseason. That was the first aggressive strike of an active winter for Avila and his front office, with the Red Sox playing southpaw to hopefully anchor a strong starting team. However, injuries dashed those hopes as the club lost Casey Mize up to tommy john’s surgery and been without Matt Manning for a long time because of shoulder and bicep problems. Backend Starter Tyler Alexander and Michael Pineda missed the time, as did Rodríguez himself.
The 29-year-old southpaw has been out since May 22, when he was put on the injured list with a chest strain. He had started a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo last week and appeared on track to return to the rotation in a relatively short time, but will stay away from the team as he attends to his personal concerns.
Players on the restricted list are not paid, so Rodríguez loses his salary for time spent away from the team. He will also not be included in the club’s 40-man squad.